Nick Collison got his dough in a weird way

Posted on: November 24, 2010 12:22 am

Posted by Matt Moore You want the long version or the short version on this one?

Okay, short version: Nick Collison got a 4-year, $11 million extension that is exceptionally cap-friendly and easy to move in case the Thunder have to do something radical like pursue a player that can make a shot in the post. He got a big signing bonus due to a nice CBA clause which may never exist again. Good times for him.

Long version: The Thunder used a CBA clause that says that a team under the cap may allot its remaining cap space towards a signing bonus for an extension of a player, meaning Collison will wind up making $13.3 million this season, prior to a lockout which means he can buy a lot of T.V. dinners to get him through the drought.

It's a no-lose situation for the Thunder. Collison gets the same amount of money he would anyway, and gets it sooner, while the Thunder get to keep a reasonable number on the future cap implications of a player they believe in a lot. It works out for the best in alll ways. Even if the Thunder suffer an injury and have to sign an emergency replacement they'll have the veteran exception available. Meanwhile, their roster is pretty set and doesn't need much tweaking, and tweaking isn't how they got here. They got here through patience, hard work and deal's like Collison's that help the team and he player.